Instrument for cleaning hypodermic syringes and the like



Sept. 22, 1964 J. R. LEND 3,149,360

INSTRUMENT FOR CLEANING HYPODERMIC SYRINGES AND THE LIKE Filed March 29,1962 United States Patent 3 149,360 INSTRUMENT FOR EILEANHNG HYPQDERMTCSYRINGES AND THE LTKE John Robert Lend, 5247 W. North Ave., Chicago,Ill. Filed Mar. 29, 1962, Ser. No. 183,576 7 Claims. (\Cl. 15118) Thisinvention relates to an instrument or tool devised for cleaninghypodermic syringes, test tubes, and the like.

More specifically, the instrument comprises a tool having the facilityof cleaning relatively long narrow diameter containers or receptacleswith particular access into corner areas that are normally hard to reachand clean.

One of the objects or" this invention is to provide an instrument havingconfigurations thereon that lend themselves specifically to certain hardto get at cleaning areas of syringe barrels and to tubular or long andnarrow receptacles to efiiciently and completely remove all debris andsediment therefrom to place such receptacles in condition for furtheruse or for additional processing by sterilization, etc.

Another object is to provide a cleaning instrument having configurationareas or surfaces oriented in such a way as to accept various selectedforms of cotton on portions of the instrument, which portions have thefacility to establish more intimate and beneficial cleaning contact withthe interior of a restricted vessel or receptacle being cleaned.

A further object is to provide a tool or instrument having a flexibleintermediate portion or shank wherewith to flex the instrument byreaction of the shank on the rim of the receptacle or syringe barrelbeing cleaned, causing the cleaning end thereof to assume an extendedcleaning contact with the side wall of the receptacle. The instrumenthas a blunt end portion on the wall orientation contacting portion ofthe shank end, and by using a swirling motion on the extended tool andbeyond the receptacle, the cleaning end follows a rotary path within thereceptacle or syringe to eliminate foreign sediment and debris from thebottom wall of the barrel and from the adjacent vertical orcircumferential wall of the article being cleaned.

And as a further object, the instrument is made of plastic material suchas nylon or the like having limited flexibility with good recoveryproperties after distortion to resume its original shape and to hold itafter flem'ng during use to carry out the cleaning function.

Other objects and advantages shall hereinafter appear in or becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the cleaninginstrument of the present invention having reference to the accompanyingdrawing forming a part of this specification.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged side elevational View of the cleaning instrumentof this invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a barrel of a hypodermic syringe in section and showshow the instrument is used in a swirling motion, with cotton attached toits end, to obtain the eificient and effective cleaning action madepossible with this tool.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross sectional view through the syringe barrelsubstantially as taken along the plane of the line 33 in FIG. 2 tofurther illustrate the cleaning action with this tool or instrument;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the top of the instrument of FIG. 1to show the configuration thereof;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the instrument shank as it generallyappears in the plane of the line 55 in FIG. 1; and

dddhfliiil FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the lowerend of the instrument showing a modified tip.-

The instrument is best illustrated in FIG. 1 and comprises a head 1, ashank 2 and a tip 3. The shank 2 is slightly tapered from the head endto the tip end for greater flexibility of the lower portion of theinstrument. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, the shank is made to includelongitudinal ridges 4 or similar configurations for better pick up andfor grasping the instrument when applying cotton to the ends thereofprior to use and to aid removal of the cotton from the head or tip endas the case may be.

The tool or instrument is preferably made from a flexible material andmay be completely so made although the flexibility may be confined tothe shank portion only if desired for obtaining the action needed toclean receptacles. While other kinds of material having a flexiblecharacter can be used to make this instrument, a material such as nylonprovides the necessary flexibility and memory characteristicsparticularly well adapted to an instrument of this nature. Theinstrument must have limited flexibility or resilience, but it must alsohave the property of resuming its original undistorted shape or orm.

The head 1 is multi-surface or plane sided in cross sectional shape asseen from FIGS. 1 and 4 to afford a hand hold or finger grip means tobodily rotate the rest of the instrument during cleaning inducing itsflexing and propelling the tip 3 bodily about the bottom of a receptaclesuch as the syringe 5.

The head comprises a terminal end 6 having pyramidal projections 7thereacross formed in a common plane and notches 8 are provided on oneor more of the vertical edges thereon as seen in FIGS. 1 and 4. Arectangular slot 9 is cut out of the head to provide a wrench facilityto aid in removing a syringe needle such as 10 by means of its nut and11 seen in FIG. 2.

It is the head 1 that provides a means for accepting a cotton piece foruse in cleaning large receptacles such as test tubes and the like.Cotton is Wound around the head to a suitable thickness, by firstapplying a portion thereof against the pyramidal end 6 to lay across thecrevices of the associated pyramidal elements 7, and then bringing thecotton about the periphery of the head to engage into the notches 8 andslot 9 while wrapping the cotton about the multi-surfaced sides of thehead.

In cleaning with head 1, the instrument is normally axially rotated withthe shank and or with the oblong head. The head with its four flatangularly related sides and with the restraining cavities acts toprevent independent rotation or loosening of the cotton. Furthermore,the cotton on the end of the head, which does a great deal of thecleaning, is held against rotation by the elevated elements or pyramidalunits 7 to insure good effective cleaning action. The apexes of thepyramidal elements 7 also induce spaced pressure points in the cotton toact through the cotton to help clean and clear the surface being workedupon.

The tip 3 of the instrument is disposed at the lower end of the shank 2and ahead of an annular recess 12 and provides a tapered unit generallydefined by a conical outer Wall surface 13 converging toward a stub end14 formed substantially square with the axis of the instru ment.Circumferential ridges 15 or similar roughened surface configurationssurround the tapered tip walls and vertical smooth areas 16 orseparations divide the roughened areas into groups. The tip taper bearsa predetermined conical angular relationship with respect to the axis ofthe instrument to obtain considerable intimate cleaning contact withextended wall portions of a syringe, one example thereof being bestillustrated in FIG. 2.

By segregating the ridges 15 into groups along the length of the tipcircumference, cotton strip or wad portions can be wound upon the tipfrom either direction peripherally and the cotton will be caught by thesharper edge portions at one side of the smooth areas 16 by turning theinstrument in one direction; while the reverse will be true whenapplying cotton and rotating the shank in the opposite direction.

Cotton will normally be placed over the stub end 14 of tip 3 and thenguided upwardly and about the tip by rotating the shank. Fromexperience, just enough cotton may be used from habit to cover the endand tip over the length of the latter. If too much cotton is used orapplied, a certain amount of the excess will be entwined about andwithin the annular recess 12.

The recess 12 is further provided as a means to allow greaterflexibility of action of the tip 3 relative to the end of shank 2. Acertain amount of adjustment of the axis of the tip in relation to theadjacent axis of the shank is hereby possible to thereby let the tip andthe cotton thereon assume a better cleaning position against the surfacebeing cleaned while under the radial pressure of the bowed shank on thetip. The circular action of the shank will further react through therecess 12 to allow the tip to also adjust angularly somewhat within thecircular path of travel about the wall area being cleaned to tend tocreate a drag effect under operation.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, absorbent cotton such as 17 has been appliedto the tip 3 of the shank 2 and the latter is shown inserted into thebarrel 18 of the syringe 5. The most troublesome spot or area to cleanis the shoulder portion 20 of the barrel 18. By bowing the flexibleshank within the barrel 18 and using the outer barrel mouth corner 21 asa reactionary or fulcrum point, shank 2 causes the tip 3 to be urgedtoward the opposite wall 22 of the barrel, thus causing the radiallyouter wall 13a of the tip to substantially lie in parallel positionadjacent to a considerable length of the wall surface 23 of the syringe.By a downwardly urged seating action of the shank toward shoulder 20compounded with the lateral reactionary manipulation of the shank over acorner 21, the cotton will tightly hug the wall 13:: and also seattightly against shoulder 20. The instrument will function in this mannerin any radial plane.

The cleaning function is carried out by circumferentially and slidablymoving the instrument about the mouth of the syringe barrel using theopen barrel end as a fulcrum for the intermediate portion of the shank2. By

holding the instrument bowed radially outwardly while maintaining thesame bodily actuation thereof without rotation of the shank on its axis,which function is well made possible by holding the head 1 tightly withthe fingers, the cleaning tip 3 imitates the same circular motion Withinthe barrel base describing an arc limited by the barrel walls with thestub end of the tip 3 riding against the bottom shoulder of the barrel.It is the tip pressure against the walls that is effective to align thetip held cleaning material with the wall and the stub end forces thecleaning material down on the barrel shoulder, and by reason of thisaction, the cleaning action is efficient and effectively performed inthe most difilcult barrel cleaning area of the syringe.

Further rotary and/or endwise movement of the instrument with deflectedshank acts to clean the balance of the tube or barrel all prior tocertain reuses or to sterilization as the case may be. 7

It is to be understood that the instrument when equipped with cotton, atone or the other ends thereof, is dipped into a cleaning substance suchas a commercial detergent or in any other suitable cleaning mixture orcompound adapted for such purposes.

The instrument, therefore, is one which by its flexibility and shapeperforms a cleaning operation in a syringe barrel, for example, withcontrolled and predetermined motions under resilience, to induceradially outwardly directed pressure on cotton or the like that isreleasably connected with the instrument to carry out the cleansingoperation by circular manipulation of the instrument.

FIG. 6 shows a modified instrument tip 25 is also tapered and generallysmooth surfaced over its length. A spiral groove 26 encircles the smoothtip in screw fashion providing a continuous surface thread that ends atthe blunt conical terminal end 27 of the tip. The point 28 of the bluntend 27 is to provide a concentrated pressure point in the cottondirected into the corner portion of the syringe barrel.

Cotton may be rolled upon tip 25 from either direction since it will beheld in place by the edge limits of the groove. Removal of the cotton isfacilitated by turning the shank 2 and exerting an endwise pull on thecotton toward point 27. The cotton will be easily release with thisaction and the tip will be ready to receive other cotton.

Both of the described tips 3 and 25 also serve as convenient means forquickly removing cotton and the like from bottles and jars, or fromvarious receptacles.

While the head 1 may also be used to remove cotton or other materialsfrom larger receptacles, the end of the head can be employed as a tamperor material crusher to break up pills or coarse chemicals as the casemay be.

The foregoing description relates to certain forms of the invention, butthe invention need not necessarily be limited thereto. Certain changesin the structure may be made without departure from the fundamentalconcept disclosed. All modifications shall, however, be governed by thebreadth and scope of the language contained in the appended claimedsubject matter directed to the cleaning instrument of the presentinvention.

What I claim is:

1. An instrument for cleaning the barrels of tubular devices comprising-a flexible elongated unitary tool partially insertable into the barrelof a device with the rest thereof extending outwardly beyond the mouthof the barrel, cleaning members connected in line with the opposite endsof said tool, said cleaning members being provided with surfaceirregularities to accept and to retain cleaning material thereon, one ofsaid cleaning members being polygonal in shape to provide finger gripareas thereon whereby to permit operative flexing of said tool withoutrotation and to impart bodily circular cleaning motion to the other ofsaid members within the barrel of a tubular device, the other of saidcleaning members being provided with a tapered surface contourconverging toward its terminal end and away from the tool proper, saidtapered portion of said member providing orientation means for thecleaning material to align said material generally with the wall surfacebeing cleaned under the flexing bowed manipulation of the tool about themouth of the barrel by the finger manipulation of the polygonally shapedcleaning member.

2. An instrument for cleaning the barrels of tubular devices comprisinga flexible elongated unitary tool partially insertable into the barrelof a device with the rest thereof extending outwardly beyond the mouthof the barrel, cleaning members connected in line with the opposite endsof said tool, said cleaning members being provided with surfaceirregularities to accept and to retain cleaning material thereon, one ofsaid cleaning members being polygonal in shape to provide fin er gripareas thereon whereby to permit operative flexing of said tool withoutrotation and to impart bodily circular cleaning motion to the other ofsaid members within the barrel of a tubular device, said other of saidcleaning members being provided with a stub terminal end disposed acrossthe tip portion thereof to endwise engage and to seat upon the barrelbottom to urge the cleaning material against shouldered areas in thebarrel portion of said tubular devices.

3. An instrument for cleaning the barrels of tubular devices comprisinga flexible elongated unitary tool partially insertable into the barrelof a device with the rest thereof extending outwardly beyond the mouthof the barrel, cleaning members connected in line with the opposite endsof said tool, said cleaning members being provided with surfaceirregularities to accept and to retain cleaning material thereon, one ofsaid cleaning members being polygonal in shape to provide finger gripareas thereon whereby to permit operative flexing of said tool withoutrotation and to impart bodily circular cleaning motion to the other ofsaid members within the barrel of a tubular device, one of said cleaningmembers including a cleaning surface portion thereon disposedtransversely to the axes of said tool, said surface portion of saidmember being provided with pyramidal projections thereon to accept andretain cleaning material over the end of said member and between saidpyramidal projections to thus establish multiple pressure points byreason of the projections of said member under said cleaning materialand to counteract rotation of the material in the plane of said cleaningsurface portion of said member.

4. An instrument for cleaning barrels of syringes or the like comprisingan elongated substantially smooth surfaced shank member for rotary handmanipulation made of material having limited resiliency with areformation factor such as nylon, an outwardly converging taperedcleaning tip formed contiguous with said shank member and having asmooth exterior contour surface provided with circumferentially arrangedridges thereon to accept and firmly hold cleaning cotton about and alongsaid smooth surface thereof and against rotation on the tapered tip, anda single annular recess on said instrument disposed between said shankand said cleaning tip to allow more liberal flexing of said taperedcleaning tip with respect to the shank to align the cotton coveredsurface portion of said tip with respect to the longitudinal wallportion of a syringe barrel that is contacted by said tip and cottonunder the rotary hand manipulation of said shank.

5. An instrument for cleaning elongated small diameter receptaclebarrels comprising an elongated shank to extend into a barrel and toproject outwardly beyond the mouth of such barrel, said shank having arounded exterior contour to fieely move about the barrel mouth duringthe cleaning operation, a head on the outwardly projecting end of saidshank including flat surface areas thereon disposed axially with respectto the shank to establish finger grip means arranged beyond the adjacentend of the shank, a cotton accommodating head forming an elongated tipon the barrel confined end of said shank and having a conical shapetapering away from the shank for backing said cotton to engage inelongated line contact while sweeping the periphery of the barrelinterior under the manipulation of the shank through said flatted fingergrip means, said shank and its connected heads being made of flexiblematerial to permit bowing of the shank and the relative axialdisplacement of the heads with respect to each other, said instrumentfurther including an annular recess arranged thereabout and interposedbetween the shank and the cotton accommodating head to establish areduced diameter portion to enhance the angular tilting of the cottonaccommodating head with respect to said shank for the orientation ofsaid latter head and the cotton carried thereon for elongated fulllength barrel surface contact during the cleaning operation.

6. An instrument for cleaning the barrels of tubular devices comprisinga flexible elongated unitary tool partially insertable into the barrelof a device with the rest thereof extending outwardly beyond the mouthof the barrel, cleaning members connected in line with the opposite endsof said tool, said cleaning members being provided with surfaceirregularities to accept and to retain cleaning material thereon, one ofsaid cleaning members being polygonal in shape to provide finger gripareas thereon whereby to permit operative flexing of said tool withoutrotation and to impart bodily circular cleaning motion to the other ofsaid members Within the barrel of a tubular device, the other of saidcleaning members being provided with a tapered surface contourconverging toward its terminal end and away from the tool proper, saidtapered portion of said member providing orientation means for thecleaning material to align said material generally with the wall surfacebeing cleaned under the flexing bowed manipulation of the tool about themouth of the barrel by the finger manipulation of the polygonally shapedcleaning member, said surface irregularity on said other of saidcleaning members comprising a continuous spiral groove extending alongthe tapered surface contour of said member and exiting outwardly at thefree terminal end of the tapered member to permit rotary application ofcleaning cotton upon the tapered surface contour of the tapered memberand the quick removal of such cotton in screw fashion axially 01f of theterminal end of said tapered member.

7. In an instrument of the character set forth and defined in claim 6,with the addition of a blunt conical point on the terminal end of saidtapered member and at the exit portion of said spiral groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,326,616 Schuler Dec. 30, 1919 1,840,484 Brown Jan. 12, 1932 2,096,162Daley Oct. 19, 1937 2,828,502 Tupper Apr. 1, 1958 2,869,160 Murcott Jan.20, 1959 3,085,272 Weichselbaum Apr. 16, 1963 FOREIGN PATENTS 580,729Germany July 15, 1933

1. AN INSTRUMENT FOR CLEANING THE BARRELS OF TUBULAR DEVICES COMPRISINGA FLEXIBLE ELONGATED UNITARY TOOL PARTIALLY INSERTABLE INTO THE BARRELOF A DEVICE WITH THE REST THEREOF EXTENDING OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE MOUTHOF THE BARREL, CLEANING MEMBERS CONNECTED IN LINE WITH THE OPPOSITE ENDSOF SAID TOOL, SAID CLEANING MEMBERS BEING PROVIDED WITH SURFACEIRREGULARITIES TO ACCEPT AND TO RETAIN CLEANING MATERIAL THEREON, ONE OFSAID CLEANING MEMBERS BEING POLYGONAL IN SHAPE TO PROVIDE FINGER GRIPAREAS THEREON WHEREBY TO PERMIT OPERATIVE FLEXING OF SAID TOOL WITHOUTROTATION AND TO IMPART BODILY CIRCULAR CLEANING MOTION TO THE OTHER OFSAID MEMBERS WITHIN THE BARREL OF A TUBULAR DEVICE, THE OTHER OF SAIDCLEANING MEMBERS BEING PROVIDED WITH A TAPERED SURFACE CONTOURCONVERGING TOWARD ITS TERMINAL END AND AWAY FROM THE TOOL PROPER, SAIDTAPERED PORTION OF SAID MEMBER PROVIDING ORIENTATION MEANS FOR THECLEANING MATERIAL TO ALIGN SAID MATERIAL GENERALLY WITH THE WALL SURFACEBEING CLEANED UNDER THE FLEXING BOWED MANIPULATION OF THE TOOL ABOUT THEMOUTH OF THE BARREL BY THE FINGER MANIPULATION OF THE POLYGONALLY SHAPEDCLEANING MEMBER.